TIME OF YEAR. MORE ON THE RAIN AND WEEKEND FORECAST IN A FEW MINUTES. TALLAHASSEE JUDGE ABOUT DOSE OF UNCERTAINTY INTO ELECTION 2014. ORDERING THE LEGISLATURE TO COME ONE NEW MAP FOR SOME FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. HE RECALLED TODAY HE WANTS IT DONE NOW INSTEAD OF LATER. THAT COULD LEAD TO DELAY IN THE FALL ELECTION. CONGRESS WILLIAM BROWN DISTRICT AT THE CENTER OF THE LEGAL BALLOTS. IT WAS ORIGINAL NATIONALLY DRAWN TO BOOST MINORITY REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS BUT THE JUDGE RULES IT VIOLENT LAW APPROVED BY FLORIDA VOTERS PROHIBITING DISTRICT FROM BEING DRAWN TO FAVOR INCUMBENT OR POLITICAL PARTY. JIM IS LIVE AT THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTION OFFICE DOWNTOWN TO TELL US WHAT THIS DECISION COULD MEAN TO VOTERS. FIGHT 2 WORDS THAT I KEPT HEARING TODAY ARE CONFUSION AND CHAOS. THEY THINK THAT'S WHAT THIS ORDER IS GOING TO ACTUALLY CREATE. WITH THE PRIMARY 26 DAYS AWAY EARLY VOTING ALSO STARTING SOON NOBODY REALLY CAN SAY WHAT THIS IMPACT WILL BE. AND THE BIG CONCERN THOUGH IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN NOVEMBER WITH THE GENERAL ELECTION. THAT COULD BE MOVED HE. IMPACT WILL BE BIG AND COSTLY. JERRY SAYS THEY HAVE TO FIND OUT MORE LATER THIS MONTH WHEN THE PLAN IS DRAWN UP AND PRESENTED TO THE JUDGE. MUCH WILL HAPPEN THIS MONTH. HOLLAND SAYS IT COULD HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT ON THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. AND NOT JUST WITH CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES. BIGGEST CHANGE THAT IS PROPOSED IN THE ORDER IS TO MOVE THE ENTIRE NOVEMBER ELECTION TO DECEMBER AND JUST MOVE ALL THE RACE THE GOVERNOR REST THE NEW SPECIAL DISTRICT EVERYTHING FOR FINAL GENERAL IN DECEMBER. IN THE RULING THE JUDGE SUGGEST THIS MOVING THE ELECTION IS POSSIBLE. POLITICAL OBSERVERS LIKE MATT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA SAYS THAT WOULD BE EXTREME. THAT'S JUNE A MAINLY POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE AND I HOPE WE DON'T GET TO THAT POINT BECAUSE WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE IS MANY, MOST OF THE OTHER STATES OF COURSE WOULD HAVE HELD THEIR ELECTION IN NOVEMBER AND WE ARE WAITING AGAIN FOR FLORIDA THE IN DECEMBER AND YOU HAVE THIS VERY HIGH VISIBILITY, HIGH MONEY GOVERNOR RACE THAT WOULD HAVE TO GOOD OPEN ANOTHER MONTH 0AND, YOU KNOW, VOTERS ARE ALREADY INDICATING THEY ARE TIRED OF IT WRIT NOW. CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN DISTRICT 5 IS AT THE CENTER OF MOST OF THIS. IF HER LIENS ARE REDRAWN WOULD IT DEFINITELY HAVE AN IMPACT ON CONGRESSMAN CRENSHAW IN DISTRICT 4 AND TED IN DISTRICT 3. BY THAT DISTRICT BEING REDRAWN EVERY DISTRICT THAT EVEN TOUCHES THAT COULD BE IMPACTED. BECAUSE!BUS IMPACTED. BECAUSE THERE IS NO DOUBT IT IS NOT GOING TO GO IN THE SAME DIRECT. NOT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ORLANDO GICHBILITY AND CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN SAYS SHE JUST DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THIS RULING. I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THE LEGISLATURE IS GOING TO LET ONE ABOUT JUDGE CHANGE ALL OF THIS. IT WOULD CREATE TOO MUCH CONFUSION AROUND THE STATE OF FLORIDA. Reporter: AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE ACTUALLY LACKING FOR MORE CLARIFICATION FROM THIS ORDER. AGAIN, CAN THIS BE APPEALED? THAT'S THE QUESTION GOING OUT THERE. THE LEGISLATURE COULD POSSIBLY APPEAL THE JUDGE DECISION. ALSO WHEN THE MAP ARE DRAWN UP AND THEY WANT TO DO THAT QUICKLY YOU CAN BET THERE IS ARGUMENT OVER THAT. THAT COULD ALSO BE APPEALED SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STEPS THAT COULD STOP THIS AND AGAIN THE JUDGE IS JUST TRYING TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION AS HE SAID IN THE ORDER IN A WAY TO FIGHT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN OR WHICH TO CLARIFY THESE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. WE

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -

A Leon County judge on Friday ordered the Legislature to redraw the state's congressional districts over the next two weeks, likely requiring a special session and potentially throwing this month's primary elections into chaos.

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis also ordered Secretary of State Ken Detzner and local elections supervisors to come up with a new voting schedule for any districts that lawmakers would have to redraw in the wake of his ruling last month that the current congressional map violates the Florida Constitution.

Duval County's election supervisor, Jerry Holland, said the ruling will likely delay the general election for the entire state by one month.

"The biggest change that is proposed in the order is to move the entire November election to December, and move all the races, the governor race, the new special districts, everything for a final general (election) in December," Holland said.

Matt Corrigan, political science professor at the University of North Florida, said delaying the election a month is the last thing Florida needs.

"It really throws the election processes into chaos. That is a major political earthquake and I hope we don't get to that point," said Corrigan. "What you would have is most of the states would hold their elections in November and we are awaiting again for Florida in December, and you got this high-visibility, high-money governor's race. That would have to go on another month, and voters are indicating they are tired of it right now."

Lewis ruled July 10 that a congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2012 was unconstitutional, drawn to help ruling Republicans maintain their overwhelming control of the state’s congressional delegation. He singled out Congressional District 5 -- a seat currently held by Rep. Corrine Brown -- and the 10th Congressional District.

In his ruling, Lewis said he found the arguments from legislative lawyers "more sensible" and he agreed that the Legislature should be responsible for redrawing Florida's congressional districts. But he said he could not, at this time, push off a new map until 2016. Lewis said to do so would be telling voters "they have been deprived of the equal right of having a say in who represents their interests in Congress for two years."

His ruling outlines a timetable calling for the Legislature to submit a revised congressional district map by Aug. 15 and for elections officials to have a proposed special election schedule the same day. He set a deadline three days later for the filing of any objections to the revised map and election schedule, with oral arguments on those objections to be heard at a hearing on Aug. 20.

The Friday Primary is Aug. 26, but early voting begins 10 days earlier.

"This is a champagne moment for Florida voters, who have waited too long for fairly drawn congressional districts," said Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters Florida -- one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "Per his ruling, Judge Lewis has laid out a path that will allow all Florida voters, for the first time in decades, to elect their representatives in fair and constitutional districts."

How Florida got to this point

Lewis ruled that lawmakers failed during the 2012 redistricting process to follow the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts constitutional amendments, approved by voters in 2010. The amendments bar the Legislature from crafting districts that favor incumbents or political parties.

Brown's District 5 (displayed on map above) winds its way from Jacksonville to Orlando, has been criticized for years as one of the worst examples of gerrymandering in the nation.

After Friday's ruling was released, Brown released a statement:

"Judge Lewis’ ruling this morning to call the legislature back into session and force a redrawing of Florida’s congressional maps with such a short timetable is certainly not in the best interests of Florida voters, and in reality, it is only the Governor who can call the Legislature back into session. Given the extremely poor history of our state with respect to voting and voting rights, dating all the way back to the days of President Rutherford Hayes, when African Americans were essentially precluded from political office, to more recently, with the dubious vote counting in the presidential elections of 2000, to the elections of 2012, when the state of Florida did not even complete counting ballots until after President Obama was declared the winner. Additionally, the maps in question before the judge were already approved in a bipartisan fashion in the state legislature, and were only approved after numerous statewide hearings on the maps, which allowed for input from all interested parties on the makeup of the district lines." (Read Brown's entire statement)

Brown said the Congressional Black Caucus was looking into the ruling.

Dozens of other members of Congress from Florida would be affected because their districts neighbor one of the two being redrawn.

"By (District 5) being redrawn, every district that touches it could be impacted," Holland said. "There is no doubt it is not going to go in the same direction; it is not going down to Orlando again. Every district between here and there could be impacted. It could easily be anywhere from 10 to 12 districts that could be impacted."

"The responsibility for drawing congressional districts lies with the state and I will represent whatever determination is made," said Republican Rep. Ander Crenshaw, whose district adjoins District 5 in Duval County.

Rep. Mark Pafford, a West Palm Beach Democrat who's in charge of leading his party's House campaign efforts, downplayed the impact of a session on the fall elections and said lawmakers shouldn't complain about having to return.

"I think to put the people's work above campaigning --- I don't think that would be a wise debate to have," he said.

Copyright 2014 by News Service of Florida and News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Advertisement

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.